A suspected car thief on Staten Island came up with a dog of an escape plan when police caught up with him last night: he tossed a pit bull puppy at one of the pursuing officers, authorities say.

The officer ended up with a bite on his forehead, the puppy ended up in an animal shelter, and the suspect -- Naquan Thompson, 22, of the 1700 block of Richmond Road in Dongan Hills -- ended up behind bars.

The puppy, a two-month-old male pit bull named Stone, was taken to the city's Animal Care and Control center in Brooklyn early yesterday morning.

He suffered no apparent injuries, though the shelter will hold him for 10 days to make sure he doesn't have rabies before determining where he'll end up, said Richard Gentles, an ACC spokesman.

The episode unfolded late last night, shortly before midnight -- officers with the borough's Auto Larceny Unit were canvassing the area around the Berry Homes in Dongan Hills after a recent rash of stolen cars, when they came across Thompson driving a 2007 Honda Accord, according to police.

It turned out the car had been stolen from the 800 block of Sheldon Avenue in Huguenot two days prior, so they moved in to pull him over.

Thompson pulled into a driveway on Liberty Avenue and got out, the puppy in his arms, police said.

He started struggling with police, and as court papers tell it, "the defendant did throw a dog" at one officer, Christopher Defco of the Auto Larceny Unit.

Stone bit Defco in the forehead and tried to run, but police on the scene scooped him up, a police spokesman said.

The officer suffered a minor puncture wound on his head and was later treated at an area hospital and discharged.

One neighbor said she came out after hearing the puppy barking loudly, as if it were in pain.

"It was a very little dog," said the woman, who would only give her first name, Senni. "Very little, like a little bigger than a Chihuahua."

She said the suspect was battling the police when she looked outside. "He was pushing the two officers really bad," she said, adding that it ended up taking between six and eight cops to restrain him.

Regarding the puppy, Senni said, "The policeman took it. They were holding him very nicely, they paid attention to him."

Thompson's mother, Rochelle Dungee, said police showed up at her apartment early this morning, where he sometimes stays, to get information about the pup.

"They would want to know, did he have his shots. I'd want to know too," she said.

Ms. Dungee said she first saw the pup on Monday, and though she wasn't sure where he came from, Thompson may have gotten him on craigslist.org.

She added that she knew very little about the allegations against her son. "If Naquan's stealing a car, he needs to get what's coming to him."

Thompson was charged with second- and third-degree assault, fourth-degree grand larceny, third-degree unauthorized use of a vehicle and resisting arrest, according to William J. Smith, a spokesman for District Attorney Daniel Donovan.